Thread: Any stats on number of Americans living in Panama?

During his trip to Panama in November 2005, George W. Bush said that 25,000 US citizens live in Panama. I've heard higher number in the past, but 25,000 seems about right to me.

How about Europeans???

Thanks pan! That's very interesting to know... I had no idea so many Americans live in Panama. Do you know if there had any study been made on this? Thanks again!

Cheers,

Michael

I wonder how many Germans there are in Panama?

Are there many ex-Americans living in Panama?

United States citizens still have to pay income taxes to the United States government no matter where they live. For that reason, I would think people would try to give up their United States citizenship if moving to Panama.

United States citizens still have to pay income taxes to the United States government no matter where they live. For that reason, I would think people would try to give up their United States citizenship if moving to Panama.

Not a good move unless you have no plans on ever leaving Panama again. If you do, and all you have is Panamanian citizenship, you'll be treated as a run-of-the-mill third world citizen wherever you go.

Originally Posted by randy

Not a good move unless you have no plans on ever leaving Panama again. If you do, and all you have is Panamanian citizenship, you'll be treated as a run-of-the-mill third world citizen wherever you go.

I suppost that's true. I just wonder if it is worth paying so much taxes to the U.S. government just for citizenship, when you aren't even living in the country.

I suppost that's true. I just wonder if it is worth paying so much taxes to the U.S. government just for citizenship, when you aren't even living in the country.

That's true. I guess the alternative is to obtain Canadian or European citizenship (if you qualify) so you can travel without hassles, and to live outside the country of citizenship e.g. in Panama so you don't have to pay any taxes.

I am pretty sure that as long as you dont make more than $80K/yr outside the country you dont pay taxes on it. Any money you make in the USA you pay taxes on. If you incorporate in Panama and implement the great banking system you probably dont have that much to worry about. As always hire a good attorney in Panama.

The US counts money made from investments as income, which can put some people over that $80,000.

Originally Posted by pan

During his trip to Panama in November 2005, George W. Bush said that 25,000 US citizens live in Panama. I've heard higher number in the past, but 25,000 seems about right to me.

As Panama is not a very big country, 25 thousand is a good number of American people there, most of them must be investors I guess

well i know that Panama has around 3 mil population, so.. if there are 25,000 americans... if means there are quite a lot... anyway.. if i would be american, i'll definetely open a small business here.

Very interesting to find out that there are 25,000 Americans living in Panama. I would definitely like to know how many Europeans or British people are living in Panama, i cannot see it being a high number with it being so far away from Europe. Heck, what am i saying, I've seen plane trips going for something stupid like $40 these days, crazy prices really. I would like to know how much a cheap airplane ticket to Panama costs. Anyone have any clues?

25,000 is a lot of people. That must inspire some expat focused businesses in Panama.

Wow! 25,000 sounds like a lot of people but I guess when you measure it up against the 2-3 million that live in panama it isn't quite a large number.

Does anyone have a clue as to how many ethnic Chinese live in Panama? My wife is Chinese, and it would be good for her if there were a lot around. I'm not Chinese myself, but I speak the language, and it would be good for me to stay in practice.

If you are looking to be around ethnic Chinese come to El Dorado. Anywhere around the El Dorado mall you will find what you are looking for. There are just as many Chinese as there are Panamanians.

I dont know exactly how many Americans are in Panama, I think you check with the American Embassy.

Originally Posted by killian

As Panama is not a very big country, 25 thousand is a good number of American people there, most of them must be investors I guess

Based on these figures, I calculate that Americans are 0.84% of the total population of Panama. But I'm sure that in some areas like Boquete, their presence is very concentrated and very noticeable.

According to the CIA World Factbook, 10% of the population of Panama is "white" and, although this is a pretty generic term, would include most Americans and Europeans. This would put the expats numbers at 32,000, which is probably close to correct.

The only hard stats would be maintained by immigration; however, given the ever changing laws, many of the expats here on "tourist" visas aren't tourists at all. They simply keep renewing their tourist status by leaving the country every three months for 72 hours. There also seems to be a number of expats who let their visas expire, then pay the fine when they leave and come back, if only because the fines are less than the costs to renew your visa through a lawyer, which appears to becoming a requirement now.

An offsetting factor is the number of expats whose primary residence is not in Panama. Most come here in the "dry" season, staying for a few months of the year. Their residence here is a second home, or they rent while they are here, so they cannot accurately be included in total population numbers.

Regardless of the current numbers, these will pale over the next few years as millions of Americans, Canadians, Australians, Asians and Europeans discover the many benefits of living here. Panama already offers a comprehensive pensionado program of tax incentives and discounts. If they get realistic about the retirement or semi-retirement market and develop a workable six month visa program the number of people moving here will grow exponentially.

There are also so many positive factors involved in Panama that will all affect growth - the expansion of the canal, the new cruise ship port, the new oil refinery, the expansion of the David airport to accommodate international flights and the annoucement of several airlines to provide direct service from the US, the four-laning of the highway from David to Boquete, the new highway linking Boquete and Volcan, and even the slick new tourism program by Minister Blades and the new James Bond film, much of it shot in Panama. These will all increase awareness of Panama.

The danger in all of this is that the country's infrastructure is severely strained by all this rapid growth. If you look at Panama City for example, a city of well over a million people, it is astounding that a city of this size dumps 40,000 metric tons of sewage into the bay every day. Plans have been announced for new sewage treatment facilities, but this is long overdue and the country lacks the financial resources to tackle these large scale projects without outside financing.

It will be a delicate balancing act for the government to encourage immigration and growth, yet provide the infrastructure required to sustain this growth.

Originally Posted by pranith

I dont know exactly how many Americans are in Panama, I think you check with the American Embassy.

Are there any rough figures on Australians living in Panama? (Australia and Panama don't exchange embassies, so I can't go through that route.) I would also be interested to hear from any Australian who sees this post.